In his book, Return to Life through Contrology, Joe Pilates discusses his philosophy on the work he and his wife Clara created over their lifetime.  He says, “To neglect one’s body for any other advantage in life is the greatest of all follies.  Make up your mind that you will perform your Contrology (Pilates) exercises ten minutes without fail.  Amazingly enough, once you travel on this Contrology “road to health” you will subconsciously lengthen your trips on it from ten to twenty or more minutes before you even realize it.  Why?  Because the exercises have stirred your sluggish circulation into action, to perform its duty more effectively in the matter of discharging through the bloodstream the accumulation of fatigue-products created by muscular and mental activities.  Your brain clears and your will power functions.”

Joe never called his work Pilates, that came after his death in 1967 at the age of 84.  His philosophy resonates even today when we are getting more and more sedentary as a culture.  Here is a clip of Joe working in his studio with one of his students ~ as you can tell Joe was a bit of a taskmaster with his students. After watching this, our students can’t complain that we are too hard on them! See the results before your very eyes!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in Pilates for Pink this year!  We are happy to provide a venue to raise money for such a wonderful cause.  One of our lovely participants, Mary, is a 2-year breast cancer surviver and is an inspiration to us all!  We will do it again next year!

Pilates for Pink!

October is breast cancer awareness month.  Join us October 23rd for our Pilates for Pink event sponsored by Shape Magazine at Paragon!  Help us contribute to finding a cure for breast cancer by bringing a $10 suggested donation for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to the class.  We will have a 9am and a 10am mat class ~ all proceeds go to breast cancer research via this generous program (www.pilatesforpink.com).

Call the studio to register for this unique opportunity!
(952) 405-9765.

Welcome to Amy!

Paragon is happy to welcome another fantastic physical therapist to our studio. Amy Boyden-Hoekstra, brings 12 years of orthopedic and women’s health physical therapy experience to Paragon. She obtained her Pilates certification through Polestar and has enjoyed integrating Pilates and physical therapy to enhance her patients’ outcomes over the past seven years. We know you will appreciate her many talents.

Reminder to register for Reformer training

BBU instructor training is off to a great start, and we will continue in October with our Reformer 1 training followed by the full comprehensive course.  Reformer 1 has only 3 spaces left, so register as soon as you can.  Check the website for details and upcoming workshops!

After being in business for just one year, we have grown our business from a relative start-up to a full blown studio!  The experience that Cari & Rhondi bring to the industry is evidenced by their rapid growth and client dedication.  Paragon offers the highest quality in Pilates instruction, physical therapy, Pilates instructor training, continuing education workshops, and dance medicine.

Special thanks and warm appreciation to Brian and Mike for their support and countless contributions to the new studio!

Our collective, grassroots, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” effort to move into a larger space has come to fruition!  Rhondi & I, along with the generous help of our husbands, good friends & family, have completed the construction and moving process!  By rolling up our sleeves – spakling, sanding, painting, trimming, laying a new wood floor, and generally cute-ifying our new space – we are ready for you all to come to the new location!  We have been working diligently over the past 4 weeks in preparation, and today it is (mostly) complete!  Attached are some photos of the process.  A big thank you to everyone who contributed their tireless efforts, and to our dedicated clientele who have been so supportive!

Paragon is 1-year old!

It was one year ago this month that we opened the doors of Paragon! We would like to thank all of our wonderful clients, friends, and supporters who have been with us for our first year in business. It has been fun for us to watch you all grow from the inside out!  We are excited for the year ahead as we move into a larger space.  

Paragon is moving!

We will be moving the studio to 5101 Vernon Ave. South, Suite 2A ~ Edina, MN 55436.  This new space is in the Jerry’s Foods building for those of you who know Edina.  It will provide us with a space twice the size of the one we currently have, and it has a lot of natural light.  There will be a larger mat class area, and we will be increasing the number of classes we offer.  Please contact us with your requests for class types, and the times/days you prefer.

The current studio will be closed on Friday July 2nd & Paragon will reopen in the new location on Tuesday July 6th (please check directly with your instructor or PT regarding Monday July 5th, as there may be sessions if we get it all done!).  We are keeping the current studio open and running smoothly as much as possible while we work on the new space in “our spare time”.  We hope to have the least amount of impact possible on the business, and we ask for your patience as we go through this big transition.

Again, a big thank you, gracias and merci for all of your support and encouragement during our first year, it means a lot to us!